Daft Question But I Need 2 Know

I've just bought an Epson CX5200 All in One jobbie. I'm delighted with it, especially as EVERY printer I've ever had has been HP.

There have been a few threads about print cartridges and getting them cheaply. I use MX2 - good outfit in my book.

DAFT QUESTION coming up. How much different is a COMPATIBLE cartridge than an ORIGINAL one. What benefits are there, apart from cost saving. I've always bought originals as I believed that they would help prolong the printer and the heads.

Are you asking if it daft to pay full price for originals when compatbiles are so much cheaper and just as good? If it gives you peace of mind, and you don't do loads of printing, then it is not daft. If you print a lot of pages, then perhaps it is daft. These days, printers are not hugely expensive. Even if they do go wrong just after the warranty expires, you don't have to cry all the way between the bank and PC World to buy a new one.

The subject has been done to death on this forum. Have a search for "inkjet cartridges" or "compatible" and see what you come up with.

I have an Epson 680, it's about 2 1/2 years old now and have used chipped compatible cartridges since the ones that came with it ran out.

Only had three problems with it.

After about a year I got paper jams, solved this with a sheet of fax cleaning paper.Over the last 6 months print quality has started to deteriorate.In the last week it has started to throw a strop about the black cartridge not being genuine, even though it's been in about a month.

None of these problems can be definatly laid at the door of Print Right, or Jet Tec. Even the third problem is probably down to dirty contacts, or just the fact that miraculously my printer has suvived 18 months past the normal self destruct date of warranty + 1 day.

Alan

ps I'm in exactly the opposite situation to yourself, I've had Epson printers for about 20 years, since I bought a second hand FX 80, and am now thinking of swapping to HP

Pesala - I did do a search, as I always do before posting one of my dinosaur threads. This time I forgot to click the radio button to title and posts. It threw up zero. I did it again and got a few results. Seems the bottom line is that there are two schools of thought. Alan14 shows this in part.

alan14 - strange you should switch to HP and I'm going the other way. I must admit that I have never had a problem EVER with any HP product. The real reasons for my switch are (a) the use of separate ink cartridges and the cost saving and (B) the difference that Epson printers make to my photo prints. They appears better, clearer prints but more importantly the colours are more accurate with the Epson. Good luck with whatever you buy anyway.

I guess I'll stay with the originals as I have always done. I'll close this thread now.

Whilst the compatibles maybe as good as the original can i just point out one thing that seems to escape everybody's notice (well most people)

Printers are now sold as loss leaders. Do you really think Epson, Canon etc can make these high quality printers and sell them at £75 each and make a profit?

No.

The cartridges are highly priced because they are used to get back the millions of ££££ pumped into the printers research and development.

If you use the printer alot you use lots of cartridges and therefore pay more. Someone who doesn't use it so much pays less. Actually fairer in the long run - the more you use the more you pay.

However it takes no REAL skill or money to copy the original cartriges and sell them at 10% of the originals price. These "copy" manufacturers are raking in the cash without having to stump up the R&D costs. Another cartridge design for Epson? No bother they just copy it.

At the end of the day if you buy copy cartridges you are helping put money in the pockets of companies who are leeching off the designs of the manufacturers like Canon, Epsom etc.

Personally rather than buy copy cartridges i buy the originals but at discount prices from places like click here. At least my money goes back to the company that spent the time and effort to produce the printer in the first place.

How would you like if you spent time and money designing a product and i came along and copied it and sold it at a tenth of the price?

Jester2K II - Fair comment. I must confess this is not the reason why I buy the originals but what you say has some validity to it. I know I'll get a verbal thumping for this next question - but just who actually validates the fact that Epson/HP/Lexmark et al sell their printers as loss leaders. I understand the marketing strategy - but I dont recall ever having seen the stats.

As a housewife with still one grade twelve student and one to start univeristy,when it comes down to using our printer,especially for coloured prints for art research, I want to cringe. The cost of original cartidges are extremely expensive but I would never buy anything but the original. I have had my printer for three years an HP840C which, to me is a really good model for home use. I haven't had one day's problem with it and it prints beautifully.

Plus 500 sheets of paper free too! Kind of backs up what Jester2K II was saying. At the end of the day, there must be enough people like me and kalahari and the rest who buy originals which, as you guys have stated, allows the loss leader units to generate what must be large profits from the cartridges. I'm not sure I could be bothered filling cartridges with ink and spending days getting it off my hands and desk and clothes and so on.

I paid £149.99 for the CX5200 (in SHHH PC World) and I'm very happy with the deal. I've ordered 8 cartridges from MX2 for a total price of £95.20 whereas PC World would charge me £131.92. Thats a saving of £36.72. Makes the pill just a wee bit easier to swallow I guess.

re. all your rantings about buying original cat.because companies sell printers at a loss,and the companies that sell compatables don,thave this expence but rake in huge profits.if the companies that make the printers want these huge profits then sell at the same price as the compat.untill they do i will not be conned by these companies excuses for ripping me of.